Renderings emerge for home improvement ‘megamall’ in Doraville

For nearly two years, there’s been little more than radio silence regarding the pitch for a home improvement “megamall” in Doraville.

When the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported on such plans in November 2016, the project, led by Canada-based company Improve, sought to bring 320,000 square feet of home enhancement-centric retail space to a highly visible 8.4-acre parcel just northeast of the Interstate 285 Perimeter.

Now, that vision is showing new signs of life.

Improve, according to Gwinnett County property records, bought the land last summer for just over $6 million, and newly revealed renderings and an update to the site’s Loopnet profile show the project has only grown larger—and that retail space is now up for grabs.

Flaunting 418,000 square feet, Improve’s first American mall is slated to sit right alongside Interstate 85, just north of Pleasantdale Road and not far from an existing furniture row mecca in Norcross.

The complex would ultimately boast 429 unique showrooms spanning roughly 400 square feet each, as well as training and meeting rooms, design services, and food options.

Each showroom is expected to be filled with high-end products, making Improve “the new center for home renovations for designers, contractors, and the general public,” according to the company’s pre-sale marketing material.

Doraville’s city leaders have said the project should welcome new jobs to the area, broaden the city’s tax base, and set the stage for other industries to enter the local economy, according to ABC’s earlier report.

Currently, an Improve megamall stands just outside Toronto. It’s open Wednesday through Sunday and by appointment only on Monday and Tuesday.

• Canadian home improvement mall eyes Atlanta location [Atlanta Business Chronicle]